Philando Castille shooting

[Omega]

I don't recall if I posted here about this when it happened, but something struck me about the whole incident, mostly clouded on how the girlfriend acted during the event.  I seem to recall hearing that the gun was on his lap, and had seen many a YouTube video putting Castille in a not so good light, specially as a gun owner.  Having said that, that should not of cost him his life, but he was not as squeaky clean as many try to make it seem.

I too do not know what the jury heard, but they made their decision and right or wrong that is what the decision is.  I don't recall any marches or mayhem after the OJ trial, and we all know he did do it.  So as far as I am concerned, the legal system did their part, the grand jury was convened, charges leveled and a verdict decided upon.  While not perfect by any means, it is the legal system we have and changing it may not have the effects everyone thinks it will.

[KahrMan]

They have now released the dash cam video that shows the actual shooting.  Still not sure if the officer over reacted or not.  The officer started yelling at him to not pull he gun out and then shot into the window at point blank range.  The odd part is how calm the girlfriend was and immediately started Facebook live videoing the aftermath.  You could hear the stress and fear in the officers voice and the girlfriend didn't hardly show any emotion.  

[Cruel Hand Luke]

I pretty much agreed with the Zimmerman verdict....Like it or not Trayvon Martin was not a "child" and he was the same height and weight as Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard. He would still be alive if he hadn't doubled back around and attacked Zimmerman. Zimmerman may be a douchebag but he has a right to defend himself from unlawful violence.  I agreed with the Michael Brown investigation not leading to charges being filed. The whole "hands up don't shoot" has been proven to be fantasy and the coroners report shows a pretty clear picture of what happened.  I even can see how Betty Shelby was acquitted (the officer who shot Terence Crutcher in Oklahoma). But I was truly surprised (and a bit dumbfounded) at the Yanez/Castile decision. When asked why he shot Castile , Yanez said "I don't know" . Really? You DON'T know?

I get it that Castile matched the description of a robbery suspect in that area. That is enough to amp up any officer about to interact with someone. And you hate to Monday morning quarterback in these situations but it just seemed that Yanez was a little TOO amped up and maybe out of his depth. Was this the first time he'd ever encountered a legally armed citizen ? In the audio he seemed like someone who just realized he had really screwed up.

I'll be the first to tell you that there is very little time to make a measured decision when human reaction time can mean the difference in life and death.....but this case just seems like a cop who was maybe a little too ready to shoot saw a black guy and a gun and fear of the two together lead to a shooting that should never have happened. I'm normally going to come down on the side of "if you don't fight the police you are not likely to get shot"....but Castile by all accounts was not fighting them and it is pretty unlikely he was initiating a gunfight with his girlfriend and her 4 year old daughter in the car.  

This is just a sad situation all the way around. And while I feel there are far too many families of criminals protesting their hoodlum family members finally falling victim to the law of averages (and not every "gentle giant" is in fact gentle), this one seems to be a case of at a bare minimum an officer being a little too quick on the trigger and that cost a man his life. . 

Edited June 21, 2017 by Cruel Hand Luke

[monkeylizard]

...

Edited June 22, 2017 by monkeylizard

[Capbyrd]

The cop should have walked to the window, "Your driver side brake light and third brake light are out.  Just wanted to let y'all know."   And that should have been it.  It should have never gone further.  But because all civilians are criminals until proven innocent, Castile had to die and his daughter had to watch.  

[monkeylizard]

[Ski]

14 hours ago, Capbyrd said:

The cop should have walked to the window, "Your driver side brake light and third brake light are out.  Just wanted to let y'all know."   And that should have been it.  It should have never gone further.  But because all civilians are criminals until proven innocent, Castile had to die and his daughter had to watch.  

I suppose the officer might have handled it that way if that was the reason for the stop, but it was apparently just a pretext.  He was pulled over for suspicion of robbery--a robbery he did not commit.

http://www.kare11.com/news/police-scanner-audio-1/267042738

http://www.startribune.com/audio-officers-discuss-stopping-philando-castile-s-car/386337111/

I wonder if we'll ever know how the jury came to the "not guilty" conclusion.

 

 

[Randall53]

In this thread I'm hearing some say to get your license (mine is always in a back pocket in my wallet) and registration (mine is always in the glove box) out and roll down the windows. If dark, then turn on the dome light and be ready when the officer approaches. I used to think this was the proper thing to do. Now, I'll say I'm not sure what to do. If you do the above, the approaching officer is going to see someone through the vehicles back or side glass, reaching into their pocket and/or someone leaning over and digging for the registration (or something....in his mind he's not sure). Both of these locations are often times where a firearm could possibly be. In todays world, I can see this turning out very bad especially if a certain situation occurs as it did in the OP, depending on the officers mental state at that moment (robbery a mile down the road and you fit the description for instance). I'm thinking it might be best to stay put with your hands on the top of the wheel and only respond to his commands after he has approached. Maybe even repeat his command back to him, "I understand you want me to reach into my back pocket and get out my wallet with ID sir. Is that correct?"  Then, "I understand you want me to retrieve my registration from the vehicle glove box sir. Is that correct?" It's a really sad world we are living in when this might be necessary just to stay alive while going out to eat a meal, or to pick up the kids from school....ya know?  And as far as people respecting others, that's completely out the window as far as so many people goes. Just go bass fishing with me on Chickamauga some day or night. You won't believe how selfish and the screw you attitudes that prevail. It's pathetic really.

[bud]

.

Edited July 5, 2017 by bud

[btq96r]

I get it...there is no such thing as a "routine" traffic stop and each one has an automatic risk associated by potential alone.  But LEO's concurrently need to get that citizens have a right to be armed as well, and that shouldn't take the situation from 0-60 absent any other cause.  Myriad examples exist where lawfully armed citizens are treated as a threat without any proximate cause to justify such.

The tread line on citizen carry is going up, and that's a good thing overall.  LEO training needs to get officers in a mindset where not being the only one in a situation with a firearm is a condition of the job.

Philando Castille died because his right to carry was feared instead of being respected.

[Sunfish]

If your scared and afraid why would you become a police officer. The pay ain't it

[Omega]

47 minutes ago, Sunfish said:

If your scared and afraid why would you become a police officer. The pay ain't it

I don't know, but I can tell you this, while in the army interacting with the civilian population in Iraq, I treated them with respect and was courteous but I always kept an American at my back and was always locked and loaded, never once had my safety engaged.  Was I scared, I don't think so, but witnesses too many "non-combatants" take out friends at check points to not be cautious.   As a gun carrying individual, and a huge proponent of our 2nd Amendment rights I still find it wise to make sure there is no misunderstanding between me and any LEO I encounter.

[DaveTN]

3 hours ago, btq96r said:

I get it...there is no such thing as a "routine" traffic stop and each one has an automatic risk associated by potential alone.  But LEO's concurrently need to get that citizens have a right to be armed as well, and that shouldn't take the situation from 0-60 absent any other cause.  Myriad examples exist where lawfully armed citizens are treated as a threat without any proximate cause to justify such.

The tread line on citizen carry is going up, and that's a good thing overall.  LEO training needs to get officers in a mindset where not being the only one in a situation with a firearm is a condition of the job.

Philando Castille died because his right to carry was feared instead of being respected.

We could swap stories here forever of citizens and cops that have been shot. As I posted in another thread I think it may turn out the GA corrections officers were executed because they hesitated. Cops are trained. Unfortunately that level of training varies greatly. Most people don’t need to be trained to know not to try to pull a gun during a traffic stop.

Do you want them to be trained to wait until they see the end of the barrel? It’s too late then. This is no different than the snowflakes arguing that we (armed citizens) aren’t properly trained and shouldn’t be allowed to carry. I don’t know what happened on that traffic stop; obviously some here do. But after seeing all the evidence and hearing all the testimony a jury decided the Officer was not guilty of a crime.

You are a young man with military experience and a college degree. Why don’t you go on a few ride a longs or become an Auxiliary Officer and see what it’s like first hand?

[Capbyrd]

10 hours ago, Ski said:

I suppose the officer might have handled it that way if that was the reason for the stop, but it was apparently just a pretext.  He was pulled over for suspicion of robbery--a robbery he did not commit.

http://www.kare11.com/news/police-scanner-audio-1/267042738

http://www.startribune.com/audio-officers-discuss-stopping-philando-castile-s-car/386337111/

I wonder if we'll ever know how the jury came to the "not guilty" conclusion.

 

 

 

Still not a reason to lose one's life.  
 

[Dolomite_supafly]

About six months ago I was coming home from a local restaurant with food for my wife. It was really cold so I was trying to get home before the food got cold. I was speeding and was probably doing 15 mph over on a local highway where the speed limit is 50 mph. As I turned onto my dead end road I looked in the rear view mirror to see a patrol coming up on me rather fast but without his lights or sirens going. Realizing that he was probably going to pull me over for speeding I pulled off to the side of the road and turned off my ignition before he could hit his lights. A few seconds after I pulled over he pulled in about 15 yards behind my car and hit the emergency lights. Because my car was already off I could not roll down my electric windows so I opened my door to tell him my windows were not working. That is when he came unhinged and started yelling things like "you want some of this" as well as "bring it on if you want to die today" from behind the door of his cruiser. I honestly cannot remember with 100% certainty but I would swear to the fact he had his pistol pointed at me as he yelled those things. There was about a two minutes of him yelling taunts at me before he yelled for me exit my vehicle. As I exited my vehicle he went full retard and did a full blown felony traffic stop on me, for speeding. As I got out of my vehicle the officer had me walk backwards towards him with my hands on top of my head. Somewhere between my vehicle and his the officer grabbed me by my hands that were no top of my head and put me against the trunk of my car. It was at that time I informed him I had a gun and a valid HCP. That didn't change his attitude one bit and he continued to aggressively search me head to toe after taking my gun. I honestly thought I was going to jail for something because of the way he acted. All this occurred in front of a neighbors house and I was being searched as they were coming home from church. My neighbors had to drive through their yard because my car was blocking their driveway. After he ran me he came back and apologized over and over again for how he acted and tried to make excuses for why he acted the way he did. After I told him I understood he handed my gun back and sent me on my way. I had every intention of informing him as soon as I could but I knew I didn't want to tell him I had a gun while he was excited with his gun pointed at me. If this is how he acts on all traffic stops it will just be a matter of time before someone gets hurt. The officer that pulled me over worked for THP and was definitely a younger, unseasoned officer. And if he did shoot I would no doubt be painted as some bad guy because I did have a gun on me, legal or not.

Having a gun, even legally, is all that is needed to justify a shooting any more. Even if you don't have a gun you can be shot if the officer thinks you do and "feels threatened". Castillo was the person we wish everyone was and he was killed just because he had a gun but the worst part is the officer(s) were acquitted because Castillo had a gun. I am starting to think that maybe carrying a gun is more of a risk than not carrying a gun. It won't keep me from getting shot but it will make it a lot harder for my homicide to be justified.

I will say that it seems like LE is a bit more jumpy these days, especially the younger ones, and they escalate far too often and far to quickly. They pull their guns out without any valid reason a lot of time and as we all know every time your gun clears your holster there is potential for something very bad to happen. I understand officers have to protect themselves but they also have to realize that not all people are trying to kill them no matter what they think or have been told. People will get nervous and act differently when they have a gun pointed at them but these days nervousness is often used as justification for the officer's actions. All you have to do is watch any one of the reality shows with cops to see officers say that because someone is acting nervous, after getting a gun pointed at them, they must be doing something illegal. Could it be they are nervous because you just pointed a gun at them? Never realized that nervousness is probable cause to conduct a search but it happens all the time. I would LOVE to see any officer go through a formal investigation anytime their gun clears the holster on duty. And the only way to determine whether it was legitimate would be through an investigation by an impartial party, not IAD. And if the there was no valid reason to pull the gun then take administrative action against the officer. I cannot approach someone with a gun in my hand so barring a legitimate reason an officer should not be allowed to do the same thing.

As far as the video released I will say that I do question the officer saying the people looked like they were involved in a in a robbery. Is it because they are black? Is it because the car is white? If the occupants were suspected in a robbery then by all means conduct a felony traffic stop. But with them walking up willy, nilly that only tells me that the officers did not believe for one second that the occupants were involved in a robbery even though that is what is told to dispatch as the justification for the stop. I also have a big problem with the video that was released because every version I can find does have some editing done to it to remove something from video that happened just before the shooting. I would like to see and hear what was said in the video that was edited out by the police department.

I believe the acquittal was in error and the officer should be held accountable because he was wrong for killing Castillo.

[Ronald_55]

I think the issue with some of the younger officers is that they feel like a macho "operator" instead of a civil servant. 

My Papaw was a LEO for over 25 years and I am not sure he drew his firearm once. Not he was not a patrolman, but he was in on lots of events. Times were a little different. He used to have guys come by and thank him for helping them out after getting out of jail. Several would offer to mow his lawn or something for helping them straighten out. 

[MacGyver]

Sir Robert Peel published these nine principles of modern policing in 1829.  They're recognized as the basis upon which modern law enforcement agencies have been formed.  

Give them a read and measure what you see today against them:

The nine principles were as follows:

1. To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and severity of legal punishment.
2. To recognise always that the power of the police to fulfil their functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour, and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.
3. To recognise always that to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the public means also the securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task of securing observance of laws.
4. To recognise always that the extent to which the co-operation of the public can be secured diminishes proportionately the necessity of the use of physical force and compulsion for achieving police objectives.
5. To seek and preserve public favour, not by pandering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law, in complete independence of policy, and without regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws, by ready offering of individual service and friendship to all members of the public without regard to their wealth or social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humour, and by ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.
6. To use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent necessary to secure observance of law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a police objective.
7. To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
8. To recognise always the need for strict adherence to police-executive functions, and to refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary, of avenging individuals or the State, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the guilty.
9. To recognise always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.
    

[E4 No More]

3 hours ago, DaveTN said:

Do you want them to be trained to wait until they see the end of the barrel? It’s too late then. This is no different than the snowflakes arguing that we (armed citizens) aren’t properly trained and shouldn’t be allowed to carry. I don’t know what happened on that traffic stop; obviously some here do. But after seeing all the evidence and hearing all the testimony a jury decided the Officer was not guilty of a crime.

 

When I was a LEO I was trained to react to the presentation of a gun, but also to transition through the psychological phases from identifying the threat up through reacting to the threat - skipping through denial, fear and anger. I was taught to PLAN on being shot because there is no way you are going to react to a threat quick enough to be the first one to shoot - particularly out of a retention holster. So, in short it's always too late. Today is a different world from when I had this training in 1989 at the Missouri State Highway Patrol Academy. Back then concealed carry was nowhere near as common as it is today: however, one can still recognize an aggressive move with a gun when someone's about to shoot you.

[Randall53]

35 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

I think the issue with some of the younger officers is that they feel like a macho "operator" instead of a civil servant. 

 

Yes indeed. I actually know a couple and that is obvious from the way they talk. It's like they think they're Navy Seals the way they carry themselves, talk and look down on others sometimes.

Another thing about this topic. I have no idea what the training is about in the academies. How to survive is obviously very important and needed. But so is how to treat and interact with the public they are supposed to serve and protect. They should know the laws and have training on this on a regular basis. Even in my career, we had constant training, several times a year, yet in my job there was no threat of someone dying from being mis-identified.

I'd also like to add, I read every week about police doing great things for someone. Going above and beyond the call.

It's obvious that the problem is not the police force, it's individuals that shouldn't be there at all which is true in any profession. Maybe it's attitude, fear of getting shot, or other things that can play into the mix. I think it's mental attitude mostly. Some people shouldn't be there. I think sometimes these people are known within the force but no one wants to get involved, so what actually happens everyone suffers. The good cops suffer as public trust erodes and so does the public when it gets to an "us and them" attitude. 

Edited June 22, 2017 by Randall53

[Chucktshoes]

I held off off on watching the dashcam video as long as I could because quite simply, I've seen enough videos of cops executing people. I just don't have the stomach to watch people die anymore. But then I did, and I cried. Like, for real, legit cried. I cried for all of the reasons Trevor Noah breaks down in this video. I cried because I am emotionally exhausted from seeing citizens murdered by the state's agents with no accountability. This has got to change. If it doesn't, you will see more and more incidents like what happened in Dallas. That's not an endorsement, but a statement of fact. 

[Capbyrd]

I have a question.  I've watched the video a dozen times (with headphones turned all the way up).  The last thing I hear Philando say is "I'm about to pull it out."   Everyone else says that he said "I'm not pulling it out."  What do you hear him say? 

[E4 No More]

9 minutes ago, Capbyrd said:

I have a question.  I've watched the video a dozen times (with headphones turned all the way up).  The last thing I hear Philando say is "I'm about to pull it out."   Everyone else says that he said "I'm not pulling it out."  What do you hear him say? 

I heard him say that he's NOT pulling it out.

[monkeylizard]

48 minutes ago, Capbyrd said:

I have a question.  I've watched the video a dozen times (with headphones turned all the way up).  The last thing I hear Philando say is "I'm about to pull it out."   Everyone else says that he said "I'm not pulling it out."  What do you hear him say? 

It's too grainy to be sure, but I can hear it either way, depending on what I'm expecting to hear. A cleaned up audio track would be helpful.

[Cruel Hand Luke]

From Greg Ellifritz of Active Response Training.......

 

http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/the-philando-castile-shooting-and-some-advice-for-my-cop-readers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ActiveResponseTraining+(Active+Response+Training)

 

The Philando Castile Shooting and Some Advice for My Cop Readers

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Greg Ellifritz in News and Tactical Advice

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Written by Greg Ellifritz

 

This week, a Minnesota jury acquitted officer Jeronimo Yanez in the shooting death of motorist Philando Castile.  This was a controversial police shooting that probably didn’t have to happen.  I would encourage all of you to watch the recently released dash cam footage of the shooting if you have not done so.  Watch the whole incident.  It’s tragic.

 

 

My take on the shooting is that both the officer and the motorist made some mistakes.  Having researched the case, I don’t believe that Philando Castile was actually reaching for his concealed carry pistol.  He did, however, tell the officer he was armed and make a hand movement consistent with drawing a concealed firearm.  Those of you with CCW permits should know to be extra careful and avoid making any motions that a poorly-trained officer could construe as being threatening.  Mr. Castile, failed to exercise this type of caution and was shot by the cop as a result.  He made a mistake, but in my mind that mistake should not carry a death penalty as the consequence.

 

The bigger mistake, in my opinion, was made by Officer Yanez.  He appeared to panic when confronted by the fact that the driver he stopped was armed and didn’t seem to be paying proper attention to his verbal commands.  He probably didn’t need to shoot Mr. Castile, but I feel reasonably certain that the officer felt that he had no other option.  That is the predictable result of poor training, possibly combined with poor hiring practices on the part of Officer Yanez’ agency.  People prone to panic should not be hired as cops.  All cops should be given quality force on force training so that they know how to handle incidents like this without reflexively firing their weapons in abject fear.  Unfortunately, both problems are likely to persist in the face of ever-shrinking government budgets.

 

What can you and I do to prevent innocent folks from being killed by poorly trained cops?  It’s a difficult problem to solve.  I have a couple words of advice for my readers who are CCW carriers and even more advice for my cop readers to follow.

 

 

First, if you are lawfully armed and encounter a cop, you should follow your state’s laws with regards to notification.  Some states require that you notify the cop you are carrying and some don’t.  Make sure you state your notification calmly.  In all honesty, Mr. Castile’s notification to Officer Yanez was virtually textbook.

 

When you make this notification, your hands should be visible on the steering wheel and you should not be moving at all.  Don’t try to get your wallet out or reach into your glove compartment for your insurance card.  Remain perfectly still!  Listen to what the officer tells you to do and obey his commands.  If there is any doubt at all what the cop wants you to do, simply freeze.  Don’t move at all until you are sure what the cop wants you to do.  Always err on the side of remaining motionless rather than doing something when there is any doubt about the cop’s commands.

 

It’s sad, but it’s probably safest for the armed citizen to assume that the cop will be poorly trained and might get scared at your notification.  Do everything possible to keep things calm and avoid making any potentially threatening motions or statements.  There’s no guarantee that this will keep you safe, but it’s the best advice I can provide.

 

For my police readers, how would you like to be in Officer Yanez’ shoes right now?  Clearly, he is better off than Mr. Castile because he is still alive, but his career and life are ruined.  You don’t want to kill an innocent citizen.  You also don’t want to go to jail, lose a lawsuit, or get fired.  The onus is on YOU to prevent these things from happening.  It isn’t your agency’s job to keep you alive, out of jail, and employed.  Your agency will neglect to give you the training you need and fire you in a heartbeat when you screw anything up.  It’s YOUR job to keep yourself out of the trick bag.

 

 

My cop readers need to focus on two issues:

 

1) Ensuring the validity of the initial transaction- The first thing that comes up in any police shooting investigation or any lawsuit filed against the cops is “Why did the cops contact the person they shot.” If the reason for the contact is bogus, then everything that transpires later is viewed with suspicion.

 

The media works this angle to the cop’s detriment. They blame the shooting on the reason for the stop, not what the suspect did afterwards. Right now we are hearing every media outlet talk about Mr. Castile being shot “for having a couple of burnt out brake lights.”   That’s not why he was shot, but it doesn’t matter in the court of public opinion.

 

Your contact with any citizen in an enforcement capacity needs to be rock-solid. Not only rock-solid in a legal sense, but rock-solid in the court of public opinion.

 

Look at this shooting. The reason for contact (only one functioning brake light) is valid legally, but what do people think about cops pulling people over for minor infractions like that?  They don’t like it.  Following the logic, they will like it even less when someone gets shot as a result of a “bull####” stop.

 

I know what the cop was doing, he was likely hunting for criminals and people who have warrants. I see it pretty regularly. Cops pull over crappy cars for equipment violations, hunting for an arrest. Poor people who can’t afford to fix busted tail lights often can’t afford to pay their tickets, their child support, or their court fees. Their driver’s licenses are frequently suspended and they regularly have warrants.

 

So, aggressive cop looking to arrest “bad guys” pulls over a beater car and runs everyone inside for warrants. About 25% of the time he gets lucky and gets an arrest or a bunch of tickets. Every once in awhile, bad #### happens, innocent people die and the cop ends up in the national media spotlight.  Is it worth it to take the chance of such a negative outcome to enforce a relatively inconsequential  traffic violation ?

 

The problem is that a large portion of society thinks that your  hard work and “aggressive and proactive” policing style looks an awful lot like “screwing with poor people” instead of hunting criminals.

 

STOP HASSLING PEOPLE!  The fact that some dude has a suspended license or hasn’t paid a speeding ticket is not negatively affecting the real safety of the community you patrol.  I know you want to do good things and make lots of arrests, but every stop you make has the potential to go REALLY bad.  Don’t stop people for bogus violations.  Don’t hunt minor scofflaws.  The public doesn’t respect you for doing so and occasionally you will get thrown under the bus when you screw something up, or your stop ends up in a shooting that you didn’t intend.

 

Put yourself in the position of Officer Yanez.  Would you have made that traffic stop if you had known it would turn out like it did?  My guess is the answer is “no“.  Think about that the next time you feel like making a stop for a cracked windshield or some other trifling infraction.

 

I know this opinion will be criticized by hard working, aggressive police officers; and perhaps rightfully so.  Most cops want to do a good job and lock up bad guys.  A problem is created when the very public we serve does not approve of the manner in which we do this.  The public’s disapproval of pretextual traffic stops and enforcement of petty traffic violations is at a historic high.  They don’t like it.  And they like it even less when you get involved in a controversial shooting because you finally caught one of those really bad guys that you were trying to put in jail.

 

In today’s world it becomes more a matter of individual and career survival than an issue of getting one more arrest.  In my mind, that balance is pretty clear.  I don’t make pretextual traffic stops.  I don’t stop vehicles for minor equipment violations that don’t endanger the motoring public.  I don’t run the  plate on every car I see looking for the dude who has a suspended license because he didn’t pay his child support.  Most of the people you catch by making these kind of stops aren’t truly criminals.  They’re broke!  Yes, they have likely made numerous poor decisions that have resulted in their warrants/suspensions, but most of these folks aren’t a real danger to your community.  Don’t make it a habit to focus your attention on these “small fish.”  Your community would probably prefer that you spend your time doing something more productive to enhance your residents’ safety.

 

My hard charging rookie self would have scoffed at this advice 20+ years ago when I was leading my police department in total numbers of arrests and traffic tickets.  You cops reading this may scoff right now as well.  Do what you think is best, but I promise that your perspective will change after a couple decades in the game.  I want you to make it to your retirement healthy, happy, and outside the confines of a correctional institution.  The best way to do that in today’s world is not by stopping every car that moves.

 

2) You need more and better training.  I don’t know a single department in the country that gives its officers all the training they need.  Initial recruit training in most states is abysmal.  In Ohio, barbers get three times more training than cops do before being licensed.  In-service training is even worse.  I know some departments that provide NO in service training other than watching a couple videos each year.

 

If you are scared of legally armed citizens with CCW permits and you freak out because someone has a gun, you simply aren’t confident in your own abilities.  That’s a huge problem.  When you aren’t skilled and confident, you get scared and you over react.  Freaked out cops don’t make good decisions.  When cops don’t make good decisions, they end up on the national news.

 

Your department won’t give you the training you need.  You have two options.  You can seek out the training on your own or you can hope you never get into a bad spot where your lack of skills gets you killed or put in jail.

 

There has never been a greater variety of top notch weapon and martial arts training available for cops and private citizens.  You need to start taking classes.  You will be amazed at what you don’t know.  I was already a state-certified police firearms instructor before I took my first professional shooting class.  I learned more in that first day of professional gun training than I did in the two-week police “instructor” school.

 

If you haven’t done any training outside the academy or your agency’s in-service classes, quite honestly your skills are likely to be subpar.  You don’t know what you are doing.  You are prone to being killed or doing something stupid that will get you fired or jailed.  Even worse, you may mistakenly kill an innocent citizen who makes a minor error of judgement in your presence.

 

Even though I’ve been teaching gun skills professionally for almost my entire career, I still take lots of outside training classes to keep my skills sharp.  I make it my goal to seek out at least 80 hours a year of professional training over and above the training my agency provides.  And I pay for those classes (and travel costs and ammo) out of my own pocket.  I shoot my guns in practice at least weekly and pay for 5,000-10,000 rounds of practice ammo out of my own pocket every year.  If you aren’t doing something similar, you are not ready to fight real bad guys on the street.

 

The same is true with police defensive tactics training.  If your only training is from the academy, you don’t know how to fight.  You owe it to yourself to get at least a year or two of quality training (at least two sessions a week) at an outside martial arts studio that focuses on a realistic fighting art.  And it better be a fighting art where you regularly train against other people who are trying to punch, kick, or choke you.  Doing fancy katas in your dojo’s mirror isn’t adequate.  Look at wrestling, Judo, Jujitsu, boxing, Muay Thai, MMA, or Krav Maga.

 

It doesn’t have to be a lifetime passion.  You just need to do the work necessary to beat most criminals.  You’ll be amazed at how differently you look at situations on the street when you know how to fight.  Your confidence will be a game changer and the criminals won’t even try you.  If some guy high on marijuana doesn’t follow your commands instantaneously, you’ll have options other than shooting him.

 

OR, of course, you can ignore my advice, roll the dice and hope nothing bad happens.  I wish you luck if you choose that route.  It hasn’t worked out so well for some other folks lately.

 

If you’ve read this far, I thank you for your time.  If you are a cop, I hope it prompts some positive change.

 

As always, the views I express here are the rambling thoughts of a single curmudgeonly police trainer.  They do not reflect the views of my fellow officers, supervisors, or agency.

 

[Erik88]

1 hour ago, Chucktshoes said:

I held off off on watching the dashcam video as long as I could because quite simply, I've seen enough videos of cops executing people. I just don't have the stomach to watch people die anymore. But then I did, and I cried. Like, for real, legit cried. I cried for all of the reasons Trevor Noah breaks down in this video. I cried because I am emotionally exhausted from seeing citizens murdered by the state's agents with no accountability. This has got to change. If it doesn't, you will see more and more incidents like what happened in Dallas. That's not an endorsement, but a statement of fact. 

He made a lot of assumptions in this video. No one knows whether or not he was reaching for anything. Do I think he was reaching for his gun? No.. It doesn't make sense that he would politely tell the cop he was armed and then decide to pull it out. The only person that knows the truth is the cop.

I agree we have a problem but I don't think it's as widespread as it seems. It's safe to assume that tens of thousands traffic stops are conducted every day. How many result in something like this? Lumping all cops together is no different than blaming all gun owners.

I'd really like to hear from the jury as to why they felt the officer was innocent. I also didn't like how this video made it all about race. The cop that fired the shots is Mexican.